Article publication: Dr. Scott Lewis, assistant teaching professor of sociology, and two sociology undergraduate students Jesse Goranson and Lawrence Kastriba, published an article titled "Policy Point-Counterpoint: The Good and The Bad of the Social Media Revolution" in the International Social Science Review. The article discusses whether social media operates as a positive social force or as a negative one. Goranson argues that social media can act to promote democratization among otherwise disadvantaged groups. By connecting individuals from disadvantaged groups, the scalability of social media increases the social capital of the group members, thus giving the group a greater voice in society and allows them greater participation in the political process.
Honored book: Dr. Glen Mazis, distinguished professor of humanities, had his book "Merleau-Ponty and the Face of the World: Silence, Ethics, Imagination, and Poetic Ontology" honored by the Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy (SPEP). The society's purpose is to promote the study of phenomenology and existentialism, but has expanded to a wide array of contemporary philosophical pursuits, including critical theory, feminist philosophy, poststructuralism, critical race theory, and most recently, increasingly non-Eurocentric philosophies.
Chapbook fellowship: Heather Hamilton, assistant teaching professor of English composition, was awarded the Poetry Society of America Chapbook Fellowship in 2018 for her manuscript "Here is a Clearing." The Poetry Society of America will publish her book in June 2019. The Fellowship competition involved poets throughout the country submitting their manuscripts for judging. Poet Aimee Nezhukumatathil chose Hamilton’s work, along with Joann Gardner’s “The Deaf Island.” Hamilton’s poems have been published in Subtropics, Birmingham Poetry Review, RHINO, Willow Springs, Southern Poetry Review, Third Coast, Poetry Northwest, and Verse Daily, among other journals.